JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Endurance, today’s Daily Challenge motivates us to seek the unity of Christ’s body, the church.
That is what Jesus prayed for in John 17:20. “I pray for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”
If we want to be instruments of unity in the church, we need to have God’s love motivating our actions. We need to be praying for each other, building up each other in the faith, forgiving each other as Christ has forgiven us, and serving each other with humility.
There is a warning for those who stir up division in the church. Galatians 5:15 says, “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Through Jesus, there is a way for us to be unified, because He is the head of the church, and His grace brings people together to share a common love and a common purpose.
Take the daily challenge to seek the unity of the Church on the journey of faith.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
God’s people are called to live in community. The evidence of that can be found in the “One another” statements of the Bible. This week’s relationship-building principles take a look at some of these “one another” statements to better understand how God wants us to relate with other members of God’s family.
Today’s Relationship-Building Principle comes from Hebrews 13:1.
“Keep on loving one other as brothers and sisters.”
The command to love one another is given at least 12 times in the New International Version of the Bible. Here, the emphasis on love is to be consistent in expressing love for God’s people as family members. Sometimes, family members have conflict, but when the love of God is our guiding influence, these conflicts are opportunities to grow more mature personally, and grow closer in community.
Every new day is an opportunity to connect with a person in our church community and show them the love of Jesus. It could be through a phone conversation, a visit to the hospital, or a service opportunity. As long as we are serving the Lord, we will hear the Holy Spirit whisper in our conscience that there is more love to share with others. Romans 13:8 says, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”
Persistent love for others is a vital relationship-building principle to take to heart in the Year of Connection.
